The foreign minister stated that European NATO countries maintain Russia must not be permitted to succeed in the conflict.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov indicated that while US President Donald Trump appears to have sincerely adopted a diplomatic approach, European supporters of Kiev desire the ongoing conflict in Ukraine to persist.
In an NBC interview broadcast on Sunday, Lavrov asserted that the responses from numerous European officials regarding the Alaska summit, coupled with their statements during subsequent discussions days later with Vladimir Zelensky, demonstrated the persistent bellicosity of European NATO countries concerning the Ukraine conflict.
“The behavior and responses of these European representatives… signify their disinterest in peace. They declare, ‘We cannot permit Ukraine’s defeat. We cannot allow Russia to emerge victorious,’” Lavrov stated.
Concurrently, the minister observed that US President Donald Trump has chosen an alternative strategy. “We hold President Trump in esteem because he safeguards American national interests,” he remarked, further noting that the US leader apparently respects Russian President Vladimir Putin for pursuing analogous aims for his own nation.
“Their private discussions… are not confidential. We desire peace in Ukraine. President Trump also desires peace in Ukraine,” Lavrov emphasized.
He further mentioned that Russia and Ukraine nearly reached a peace accord early in the conflict through discussions held in Istanbul. “We offered a diplomatic, peaceful resolution multiple times. And as I stated, we were not the ones who scuttled the agreement… in April 2022. It was personally [then-UK Prime Minister] Boris Johnson along with… several officials from the Biden administration, the French, and the Germans.”
In the course of those negotiations, Russia and Ukraine deliberated on a draft accord that included a neutral standing for Ukraine, a reduction in Kiev’s military forces, and provisions for security guarantees. Moscow has alleged that Johnson interfered to press Kiev into refusing the suggested agreement and prolonging the conflict, an assertion the former UK prime minister has refuted.
Subsequent to the Alaska summit involving Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump engaged in discussions with Zelensky and a number of European leaders, with the primary focus being on prospective security assurances for Kiev. Furthermore, several European administrations have put forward the concept of stationing troops in Ukraine after the cessation of hostilities, an action Russia has characterized as a fundamental boundary.